Feb 18, 2013

Background painting for "Gallery Adam and the Dog

Ming Kyu Lee conceived the Academy Award-nominated short "Adam and Dog" while enrolled in CalArts' film directing course; the 27-year-old Lee worked on the film for nearly three years while directing "Winnie the Pooh" and "Wreck-It Ralph" for Disney. He devoted his evenings and weekends to his film, but his ambitious vision ("Adam and Dog" is 15 minutes long) ultimately required him to take a four-month sabbatical from Disney in order to devote his full attention to the biblically-inspired story.

Lee was not only the film's director, but also producer, storyboard artist, designer, lead animator, and background painter The Photoshop-drawn backgrounds are among the highlights of the film. The dramatically lit compositions contrast the lovely textural elements of nature with vast open spaces. It is an unlikely vision of the Garden of Eden that simultaneously suggests comfortable familiarity and ethereal majesty.

Lee shared the following selection of backdrops with Cartoon Brew.